Automatic weighing-machine.



H. W. WELSH.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541 Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET l.

g z @MMM@ 4' m7/ fi a.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CUUWASHINGTON, u. c.

H; W. WELSH.

AUTOMATIC WBIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541. 7 Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH C0., WASHINGTON, D. c

H. WL WELSH.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541. Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

'7 SHBBTSSHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.v WASHINGTON, D. :4

H. W. WELSH.

AUTOMA' IIO WEIGHING MACHINE. APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541, V Patnted Sept. 9, 1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

(/7- v Y %7mazzwaziawa (hi/6n,

H. W. WELSH.

AUTOMATIC WBIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541 Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

7 SHEBTSSHEET 6 f @wm twww u ooLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

H. W. WELSH.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541, Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

'I SHEETS-SHEET 6.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. n. c.

H. W. WELSH. AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1911.

1,072,541 Pa en ed Sept. 9, 1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. WELSH, OF NORTH MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO AVERY SCALECOMPANY, OF NORTH MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

Application filed February 23, 1911. Serial No. 610,148.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY WV. WELSH, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing in North Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee andState of Visconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inAutomatic VVeighing-Machines, of which the following is a description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings which are a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic weighing machinesand more particularly to that type of machine for weighing coal, cottonseed and other like materials which will not flow freely throughordinary hopper openings and require means other than gravity for movingand dividing the material for accurate weighing.

In handling and weighing coal and especially the poorer grades of coalknown as screenings, it has been found that the coal is more or lessdamp and tenacious in character and does not readily flow throughcomparatively small openings nor does it flow in a continuous steadystream.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide an automaticweighing machine of the character described which is provided with meansfor causing the coal or other like material to flow in a continuoussteady stream when desired and to stop the flow of material when theweighing hopper has been filled to the desired extent and while thehopper is being discharged.

A further object of the invention is to provide the feed chute of theautomatic scale of the character described with a vibrating feed gate orbottom portion to cause a continuous feed of the material into theweighing hopper;

With the above, and other objects in view, the invention consists of theautomatic weighing scale and its arts and combinations as set forth inthe c aims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawings in which the same reference charactersindicate the same parts in all of the views.

Figure 1 is a side view of the complete weighing machine showing theweighing hopper as filled with material and balanced on the weighingbeam and just previous to moving to the discharging position; Fig. 2 isa similar view of the opposite side of the weighing machine, partsbroken away to show other parts in the rear thereof; Fig. 3 is an endview of the weighing machine parts broken away to show other parts in.the rear thereof; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the weighingmachine taken on line 44 of Fig. 3, parts broken away to show otherparts in the rear thereof; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of theweighing machine taken on line 55 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a detail view ona larger scale of the feed hopper and'connected parts; and Fig. 7 is aside view, with parts broken away, of a modified form of means forcontrolling the operation of the vibrating feed gate.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 10 indicates the main frame of theweighing machine and 11 the fulcrum on which is pivotally mounted theweighing beam 12.

.This beam is of the even balance type and carries a material weighinghopper 13 on its inner end and a weight box 14 on its outer end onpoints 15 and 16, respectively spaced equidistant from the fulcrum. Theweight box is balanced with reference to the hopper so that with everypound weight in the weight box there must be exactly one pound ofmaterial in the weighing hopper to balance it on every weighing.

A hopper chute 17 resting on top of the main frame is provided with avibratory gate or bottom portion 18 which extends beneath the openbottom portion of the hopper chute and at a distance beyond each endthereof. The gate is provided with side flanges 19 which extend upwardlyon both sides of the hopper chute and the lower end of the gate ispositioned directly above the weighing hopper so that all materialdischarged from the end of the gate will fall into the weighing hopper.A discharge opening 20 on one end of the hopper provides for thedischarge of the material therefrom when the gate is vibrated. The upperend of the gate is suspended from the hopcrank 24 provided on one sideof a clutch shaft 25 and having a connecting rod 26 connected theretoand to the lower end portion of the gate. The shaft is journaled on themain frame and its rotation is controlled by a clutch member 27 which issplined on said shaft and is adapted to be moved into engagement withthe aws of the complementary clutch member 28 which is loosely ournaledon the.

shaft. A power shaft 29 journaled on the frame and extendinghorizontally at right angles with relation to the clutch shaft 25 isprovided with a miter pinion 30 which.

of a clutch yoke 82 which forms the lower link of a weighted togglejoint. The upper link 33 of this toggle is provided with an operatin arm34! projecting at rightangles from the medial portion thereof and at itsupper end carries a weight 35 for swinging the link over the verticalcenter of the pivotal connection. The upper and lower end portions ofthe links are 'pivotally connected to a bracket 36 carried by the frame.

Two seginei'ital plates 37 and 38 pivotally' suspended from oppositesides of the main frame by pivot pins 39 are rigidly connected togetherby a transverse rod 40 which extends beneath the vibrating gate and fromone segmental plate to the other. The segmental plate 38 has rigidlyconnected thereto and moving therewith an angled arm ll the upper end 42of which when moved downwardly is adapted to engage the projecting armof the toggle link and cause it to move the clutch member to itsinoperative position, and the lower end 48 of said arm when movedupwardly is adapted to engage the lower portion of the projecting armand cause the clutch member to move into engagement with itscomplementary clutch member and operate the gate.

A depending tubular member i l connected to the segmental plate 37 by apivot pin 45 carries a plunger rod d6 which slides freely in the tubularmember. A coiled spring 47 surrounding the plunger rod and interposedbetween the head of said rod and the tubular member serves toyieldingly.

hold said rod in its lowermost position. A link d8 pivetally connectedat one end to the head of the plunger rod and adjustably connected tothe main frame at its other end is adapted to swing the plunger rod headout of operative position when it is desired to stop the operation ofthe machine. A bumper 49 provided on the inner end of the scale beam ispositioned to strike the Arsprocket wheel 31 carried by the head of theplunger rod and swing the segmental arms upwardly and move the clutchmember into operative position when the scale hopper is empty, to startthe filling of said hopper with material.

In order to accurately weigh the material it is necessary to continue tofeed the material to the weighing hopper during the short period of timethe hopper is slowly descending to the discharging position and whendown at the discharging position to stop the feed and simultaneouslyopen the discharge gate. To accomplish this result the segmental plate37 is vpivotally connected to the main frame by toggle joint links 50which are in horizontal alinement with each other when the scale hopperis in approxiiiiatelyits lowermost position. Adrop bar pivotallyconnected to the pivotal joint 52 of the links depends downwardly and isprovided with an anti-friction roller which is adapted to engage andmomentarily rest upon the projecting pin 54; of the upperarm of'a bellcrank trigger 55 to prevent the mechanism from moving the clutch.inem'ber into disengaging position while the scale hopper is movingdownwardly to discharging position. The bell crank trigger is pivotallymounted onthe main frame and its lower arm 56 extends horizontallybeneath the compensating-lever hook arm 57 carried by and extendinghorizontally from the side of the scale hopper and at right angles withrelation to the lower bell crank lever arm. The bell crank trigger isprovided with a counterweight arm 58 to slightly everbalance theweigl'itof the arms of the lever and to swing the projecting pinimmediately beneath the roller of the drop arm when the scale receptacleis swung upwardly to-the charging position. Astop 59 projecting from theframe limits the swing of the bell crank lever.

The hooked end of the hook arm 57 engages the free end of a compensatinglever 60 which is piv-otally connected to the frame and is providedvwith a compensating weight '61 adj ustably and slidably mounted thereon.The drop bar 51 is provided with a depending offset portion 62 the lowerend of which is pivotally connected to one end of a knock off lever 63carried by 'the main frame. The outer free end of this leverextendsbeneath the free end of the weighted trip bell crank lever '64'fulerun'ied on one end of the scale receptacle by the fulcrum pin'G5.The upper end of the verticalarm 66 of the lever 6 f is connected to adependin link 67 the lower end of which is connected to the hopper door68. The link is provided with a curved portion 69 to permit the'link andthe upper arm ofthe bell crank lever to swing to a vertical position, inwhich position the pivotal connections are in almement without strikingthe fulcrum of the lever. The hopper door is provided with arms carryinga weight to normally hold the door in closed position.

In the operation of the weighing machine thus far described the hopperchute is filled with material which will rest upon the vibratory gate orbottom portion and when the gate is vibrated back and forth the materialwill be discharged from the lower end of the gate into the scale hopper,the scale hopper being in its uppermost position. When the scale hopperis in its uppermost position the toggle joint links will be inclinedupwardly and the roller of the drop bar will rest directly on theprojecting pin of the bell crank trigger. The plunger rod of thedepending tubular member will be forced upwardly by the bumper connectedto the scale beam and its spring placed under tension. When the materialin the scale hopper approximately balances the weight of the scale thesaid hopper will begin to descend, being aided by the tension of thespring, untilit reaches a position of exact balance when thecompensating lever hook arm carried by the scalehopper will engage thehorizontal arm of the bell crank trigger and swing it out of engagementwith the roller of the drop bar. The drop bar will immediately drop withthe toggle oint links and swing the upper end of the angled arm intoengagement with the weighted clutch toggle and swing its weighted linkover the vertical plane of its pivotal connections and it will then fallby gravity to its opposite position and slide the clutch member out ofengagement with its complementary member and stop the feed.Simultaneously with the above movement the drop bar in dropping willswing the outer free end of the knock ofi lever upwardly and engage theweighted trip bell crank lever. This latter lever will be swung to aposition so that the weight of the material resting on the hopper doorwill be suflicient to open the door and the material will be dischargedfrom the scale hopper. hen the material is discharged the door weightwill close the door and swing the hopper bell crank lever into operativeposition and at the same time the scale hopper will start to ascend andthe bumper will strike the plunger rod and compress the spring and forcethe parts into feeding position as before described and the operationwill continue as long as material is fed to the hopper chute.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 7 an electric motor 71 is providedfor rotating the cranked shaft and a switch 72 is provided for makingand breaking the circuit to said motor. This switch is provided with apivoted arm 73 which is held normally in contact with its complementaryarm 73 by a spring 74 and is adapted to be swung out of contacttherewith by means of the finger 74 carried by the scale beam when thescale hopper has been swung to a discharging position. In this modifiedform of scale the hopper door is operated by means of a stop 75projecting from the main frame which is engaged by the hopper bell crankarm while the scale hopper is descending.

It is to be understood that any form of motor or switch may be used andthat the. motor may be belted to the crank shaft and also that theswitch may be connected to any moving part of the scale withoutdeparting from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the invention issimple in construction and operation and is strong and durable and iswell adapted for feeding and weighing non-free-running-material, such ascoal. cotton seed and other like material.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An automatic weighing machine, comprising a scale beam having aweight at one end and a scale hopper at the other end provided with adischarging door, a chute hopper located above the plane of the scalehopper, a gate pivotally linked to and suspended beneath the chutehopper and having a slidable connection at its lower end with a part ofthe scale, and means for vibrating the gate, said means controlled bythe weight of material fed into the scale hopper and the descent of thehopper and the movement of the hopper door.

2. An automatic weighing machine, comprising a scale beam having aweight at one end and a scale hopper at the other end provided with adischarging door, a chute hopper located above the plane of the scalehopper, a gate suspended beneath the chute hopper and having a pivotalconnection at one end and a sliding connection at its other end, meansfor vibrating the gate to charge the scale hopper, and a connectionbetween the scale hopper and the vibrating means for stopping thevibration of the gate while the scale hopper is descending to adischarging position.

3. An automatic Weighing machine, comprising a frame a scale beampivotally mounted thereonand having a weight at one end and a scalehopper at the other end provided with a discharging door, a chute hopperlocated above the plane of the scale hopper, a gate positioned beneaththe chute hopper and suspended from links at one end and having asliding engagement with the frame at its other end, means for vibratingthe gate to charge the scale hopper, and a connection between thevibrating means and the scale hopper for stopping the vibration of thegate while the scale hopper is descending to a discharging position.

4. An automatic weighing machine, comprising a frame a scale beampivotally shaft journaled on the frame, a connection mounted thereon andhaving a weight at 1 mounted thereon and having a weight at one end .anda scale hopper at the other-end provided with a discharging door, achute hop per located above the plane of the scale hopper, an inclinedgate positioned beneath the chute hopper and suspended from links at oneend and having a sliding engagement with the frame at its other end, acrank between the crank of the shaft and the gate, means for rotatingthe shaft, and a connection between the rotating means and the scalehopper for stopping the rotation of the crank shaft while the scalehopper is descending to a discharging posit-ion.

'5. An automatic weighing machine, comprising a main frame, a scale beampivotally mounted thereon and having a weightat one end and a scalehopper at the other end provided with a-discharging door, a chute hoppermounted on the frame and having an open bottom portion and an enddischarge opening, a gate covering the bottom opening of the chutehopper and extending beyond each end thereof and having a pivotal and,slidable connection with the frame, one end of the gate positioned abovethe scale hopper, a shaft journaled on the frame and provided with acranked portion having a linked connection with the gate, means forrotating said shaft, a clutch mechanism for connecting said shaftrotating means to the shaft, a lever for operating the clutch mechanism,an arm pivotally connected to the frame for operating the clutchmechanism, and means connected to the scale hopper for moving :the armto cause the rotation of the shaft when the scale hopper is in chargingposition and to move the arm to stop the rotation of the shaft when thescale hopper is in discharging position. v

6. An automatic weighing machine, comprising a main frame, a scale beampivot-ally one end and a scale hopper at the other end 5 provided with adischarging door, a chute i mounted on the frame and having an openbottom port-ion and an end discharge opening, an inclined gate pivotallyconnected at one end to the frame and having a slidable connection onthe frame at its other end, said gate covering the bottom opening of thechute hopper and extending beyond each end thereof and with the lowerend of the 1 gate positioned to discharge material into; the scalehopper, a shaft journaled on the; frame and provided with a crankedportionl having a linked connection with the gate, means for rotatingsaid shaft, a clutch meclr anism for connecting the shaft rotating meansto the shaft, weighted toggle joint; levers for operating the clutchmechanism an arm pivo-tally connected to the frame for vided with .sideflanges which extend on s each side of the chute hopper, said gatesuspended from links at one end and having its other .end slidablyresting on the frame, ashaft journaled on the frame and provided with acranked portion, a link connected to the cranked portionof the shaft andto the gate, means for rotating said shaft, a clutch mechanism forconnecting the shaft rotating means to theshaft, weighted toggle jointlevers for operating the clutch mechanism, a segmental plate pivotallyconnected to the frame, an arm carried by said plate, said armpositioned to engage the toggle jointlevers :to move one of the clutchmembers, a yielding member depending from the segs mental plate, abumper earricdby the scale beam and positioned toengage the dependingarm when the scale hopper is in its upper position, toggle joint linkspivotally connected at their outer ends to the segmental plate and tothe frame and connected together at their inner ends, a drop barconnected .to the toggle links and depending therefrom, a weighted bellcrank trigger pivoted on the frame and having one arm I positioned toengage the drop bar and hold the toggle linksin their upper positionwhile the scale hopper is slowly descending toward itsdischargingposition, an arm carried by the scale hopper and positionedto engage one of the arms of the trigger and swing it outof engagementwith the drop bar when the scale hopper has approximately reached itsdischarging position, a knock off lever fulcru-med on the scale hopperand having one end connected to the. lower portion of the drop bar, aweighted trip bellprank lever fulcrumed on the scale hopper and havingone of its arms positioned to engage the free end of the knock offlever, and. a link connected to the other arm of the bell crank leverand to the door of the scale hopper. V

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of :two witnesses.

- 'HENRY WV. WELSH.

-Witnesses:

C. H. KEENEY, LAURA A. KiLLnY.

topics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, y add essingt iGom-missioner of Patents,

' Washingtomll. O.

